Our invention relates to bicyclic lactones, which are fused ring lactones and spiro lactones, perfumery uses thereof, syntheses for preparing same and intermediates employed in carrying out these syntheses.
Perfume compositions, perfumed articles, colognes and perfumed polymers, which have sweet, fruity, nutty, hay-like, coumarinic, tonka, tobacco, lactonic, green, tagette, woody, earthy, ambery, orris, coconut, spicy and cinnamon aromas with xe2x80x9ccoolingxe2x80x9d nuances and with nutty, hay-like, orris, woody and coumarinic topnotes and woody, jasmine, floral, nutty, lactonic, spicy and cinnamon undertones, are highly desirable in the art of perfumery. Presently, natural and synthetic substances, which emit such aromas, nuances, topnotes and undertones, are high in cost, complex in nature (requiring multiple components in order to yield such aromas, nuances, topnotes and undertones) and, in general, difficult to obtain.
Coumarin having the structure: 
and hexahydrocoumarin having the structure: 
are well known in the art of perfumery. Although the chemical structures of coumarin and hexahydrocoumarin resemble a number of the bicyclic lactones of our invention, each of the bicyclic lactones of our invention has unexpected, unobvious and advantageous organoleptic properties and biological properties related thereto when compared to the hexahydrocoumarin and coumarin of the prior art.